In the year 2024 many elections will be held: the electoral calendar this year includes the European ones, for example, and also the United States presidential elections, which are celebrated in the month of November. Now, facing the big day, the campaign agenda does not stop: this Tuesday, March 5, is the big day of the primariesa key date known as Super Tuesday, in which the largest number of delegates are distributed in a single day – more than 35% – and which can leave the candidacies practically resolved for the current president, Joe Biden, and for the former Republican president Donald Trump.

Why is Super Tuesday important?

The United States presidential primaries They began on January 15 in Iowa for the Republicans and on February 3 in South Carolina for the Democrats and since then only a handful of states have voted. These early dates have traditionally served to define the favorites and for candidates with less support withdraw. This is what happened this year with the Republicans, with the abandonments of Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The importance of Super Tuesday lies in the large percentage of delegates from the two major parties that are chosen early in the primaries, leaving the process normally very on track for the future winner.

Which states vote on Super Tuesday?

A total of 14 of the country’s 50 states will celebrate Republican and Democratic primariesincluding California and Texas, the largest in the country.

The others are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. California and Texas are the states that will assign the most delegates this March 5 and will practically resolve the nominations of Biden, who does not have a significant rival, and Trump, since in the Republican case the candidate who exceeds 50% wins. the majority of the delegates.

In addition to those 14 states, the Republicans in Alaska They are called on that date, while Democratic voters abroad and in the territories of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands will also be able to elect their candidate this Supremartes.

How many delegates are distributed?

The Republicans elect this Super Tuesday 865 of the 2,429 delegates who will be summoned to the Republican National Convention next July in Milwaukee (Wisconsin), 35.6% of the total. For their part, the Democrats elect on this date 1,439 of the 3,934 delegates – 36.5% – who will proclaim their candidate at the Democratic National Convention in August in Chicago (Illinois).

Can Biden win the primaries on Super Tuesday?

No. Even if Biden were to win all the delegates at stake (so far only two have escaped him in the Michigan primaries), adding his current 206 would leave him at 1,645, still 323 away from the magic figure of 1,968 given by the Democratic candidacy. Most likely, in the absence of significant opposition, Biden gets the necessary number of delegates to be considered the winner of the primaries on March 19when another half dozen states have elected their delegates.

And Trump?

Neither. Although the former president dominates the Republican primaries without setbacks, the presence of Nikki Haley in the race is delaying the day when the former president can claim victory. Trump now has 244 delegates and before Super Tuesday the Republicans still have to elect another 29 in the North Dakota caucuses. Even if Trump took absolutely all the delegates—something unlikely—he would still He would not reach the 1,215 he needs to be declared a candidate.

Will Haley survive Super Tuesday?

Donald Trump’s only remaining rival in the primaries, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, has been enduring pressure from much of the party to withdraw of the contest after their successive defeats.

Haley, who has 43 delegates and this Sunday won her first primaries in the District of Columbia, has set Super Tuesday as the goal to reach to demonstrate to donors and voters that she can sustain her candidacy in the face of the suspicion it represents for some who Trump runs again. But if Trump overwhelms the length and breadth of the states called to the pollsit will be very difficult for Haley to justify staying in the race.